


believe me, i've tried (and tried and tried)

by sweetmuses



Category: Super Sentai Series, 快盗戦隊ルパンレンジャー VS 警察戦隊パトレンジャー | Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patoranger
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Cheek Kisses, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kairi has a lot of issues and Umika manages to get through to him, Male-Female Friendship, it's kind of cute imo, lots of talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 14:53:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20211589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetmuses/pseuds/sweetmuses
Summary: Kairi's on edge. Umika's afraid. The tension gets to them both.





	believe me, i've tried (and tried and tried)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cheesethesecond](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheesethesecond/gifts).

> I kind of dropped the series at around episode 12, so I did the best I can do with what I've read. Sorry if it seems rushed and really bad, but I haven't written a full fic in a good while and this was the best I can do with months of incomplete work. I do hope you like it though!

Umika doesn’t often say it in Kairi’s face, but there’s just a part of her that actually is scared of him.

Kairi has a lot of anger, which she naturally does not. He’s mischievous and quite sarcastic, with a sense of empathy and sadness. However, his ruthless nature takes most of that away when he’s out there, filled with malice and rage thanks to Zamigo. She’s gotten used to it, seeing as how often he makes offhand comments about how he’s going to kill the bastard or how their lives would be easier without the Patrangers around or he would prefer to be killed than let the Gangler and Patrangers have what the want.

But then there are the moments where the comments start getting into her head and she thinks that it’s only a minor flare up. They start piling up and soon she’s crying in the corner of the bathroom, afraid out of her mind. She doesn’t like admitting it, but she doesn’t know if she can see Kairi the same way that she saw him when they first met.

Kairi notices and decidedly takes things into his own hands. He grabs her wrist on a light day and pulls her to the back. He turns to her with cold eyes, leaning against the wall, causing Umika to take three steps back and crash into the wall.

“Hey, what’s this for?!” Umika says in an angry tone.

“Well if you would tell me what’s been going on, maybe this,” he says as motions his hands around. “Wouldn’t be an issue.”

“An issue? Okay, if this is about that time I spilled that cup of coffee on you I’m sorry about that. It was just an accid-”

“It’s not about that Umika,” he coolly says.

“Then can I leave?” she numbly replies.

“Not until you explain why you’ve been avoiding me for the past three days.”

And there it is. The usual “Kairi crosses his arms, rolls his eyes, and then gives a piercing stare” move. She’s used to it, being on the receiving end more than enough times. So why does it feel different now? Why does his stare can pierce through everything that she knows and loves in order to find his answer? Why does his stare scare her more now than before?

She awkwardly responds, “I don’t know, you’ve been giving off a weird vibe I guess?”

It’s a bad lie, but it works for the time being. He simply sighs and heads back into the front like it was nothing. She lingers behind the back room in confusion, unsure on how to proceed. It takes Tooma yelling that they have customers for her to snap out of her trance-like state.

“This is gonna suck,” she mutters to herself as she gets out of the room.

Tooma pulls Umika into the back room just a day after the incident.

“So, what to tell me what the hell is going on?” he asks bluntly.

“Okay if it’s about the whole Kairi incident from yesterday, it’s nothing. And I know you’re going to prod, so don’t,” she bites back.

“Wow, didn’t know you had it in you,” he sarcastically responds.

“Cut it out dude. Now can I please go back to my job?” she says, crossing her arms.

“It’s a slow day and Kairi’s got it first of all.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“Because when the both of us aren’t around, he instantly takes control. He’s a guy that prefers when the job has already been done, but he’ll step in if he needs to. Now would you please cut the crap and please tell me what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing! Kairi and I just had a small talk, that’s all.”

“And what else? Anybody can tell that was too short to be just a 'small talk',” he said, making quotation marks in the air.

Tooma’s smart, unfortunately. Compared to the both of them, he’s seen more, which means he could see right through Umika like a piece of paper. Again, she’s used to it, but in comparison; it was an annoyance.

“Have you ever felt like Kairi’s been off lately?”

He instantly slumps, giving a half-hearted shrug. “All the time Umika. All the time.”

“Then how are you so used to it?”

“Why don’t you ask yourself that question?”

Tooma gave Umika a sympathetic stare, which didn’t do much to calm her nerves. They both head out, ignoring Kairi when he bumps into them.

So for the next couple of days, she doesn’t try to approach him.

It was simple, really.

Acknowledge Kairi when he comes through the door, but don’t try to spark up a conversation with him. Watch his every move and make sure that you don’t step on his toes. When he asks you a question, answer him curtly. When he tries to make conversation, ignore him, even when he persists (which he usually doesn’t, thank god).

In battle, it was the same practice. Only yell out when necessary. Make sure your moves don’t interfere with his. Cover him, but try not to mess up his groove. When he calls out, do every move precisely without problem. When the Patrangers come by, make sure to stay close, but not too close. If anything happens, get help, but try to not to anything to fuel the situation back home.

It was exhausting, in more ways than one.

And frankly, it comes back to bite her in the ass, hard.

“Okay, what in the hell was that?!” Kairi yells as Umika nurses a head wound. “We almost had the guy covered! You should’ve went right for it, but instead you decided to go left. Why?! Could you do at least one thing right around here?!”

She jumps in her seat, causing Tooma to create a tch sound when he tries to put on the bandages. Kairi slams the table next to them, making her even more startled. She merely looks away at his rage purely out of fear for what’s next.

“Kairi!” Tooma growls. “Can you calm down for at least three seconds here? It’s kind of hard to wrap Umika’s head when you’re screaming out here like a madman.”

“Hard to do that when she was the one that caused it.”

“Wow, you hit a new level of low,” Tooma pokes, causing Kairi’s anger to spike. Umika only clenches her skirt at the confrontation (although you can hardly say that when one of them is not even looking at the other).

“You want to say that again?” Kairi fumes, coming close to flipping a table at them.

“Sit. Down.” Tooma grabs Kairi by the shoulders and roughly pushes him down into a chair.

“What’s your deal man?!” he yells, brushing Tooma’s hands away from him.

“Hey, here’s a radical thought: maybe stop being a prick?” Umika finally snaps. The both of them turn towards her, confused by the sudden change in behavior. Umika covers her mouth in sheer surprise.

He doesn’t talk for the rest of the day.

Umika closes up Bistro Jurer as usual.

She turns around and jumps when she sees Kairi on the counter, staring at the wall with wandering eyes. She hesitates, juggling the desire to sit next to him versus the urge to quickly speed past him. After a few seconds of deliberation, she simply leans against the door, crossing her arms and looking down slightly.

Kairi chuckles to himself. “Okay, I get it, you’re pissed.”

She shuffles in her position awkwardly. “Well, that’s a good way to put it, I guess.”

“If you’re trying to copy me, it’s not working.”

“Who said that I was trying to imitate you?!”

“Says the girl trying to pull off the exact same posture that I would do when I’m annoyed.” Umika immediately drops the pose after that.

“You gonna come over here or what? Seat’s open.” Umika slumps against the wall, puffing out her cheeks. Kairi hangs his head with a slight smile on his face (probably the first genuine one she’s seen in ages).

“Look, if you don’t-”

“First of all, what gives you the right to suddenly talk to me like it’s all fine and dandy after yesterday?”

He raises his hands in a faux-surrender move, obviously trying to lighten the mood. “Well I’m sorry that I hurt your feelings back there. It’s just...it gets to you you know?”

“It’s not just that Kairi.”

Kairi shifts awkwardly on the counter, rubbing his palm against the back of his neck. The invisible wall she put in between them ebbs and flows with every breath, nearly pushing itself into their faces uncomfortably. After a moment of thought, she quietly goes to his side, settling herself onto the counter a good inch away from him.

“You know, for a 19 year old high school dropout, you’re pretty damn scary at times,” she jokes, mostly (even though it’s true).

“And what makes you say that?” he quietly asks, dropping the confident bravado almost instantly.

“It’s just...ever since Zamigo showed up and the Patrangers have been getting closer to us, you haven’t been rational lately.”

“Rational?” He raises his eyebrows in a joking fashion, although his tone says something different.

“Well, more like...brash?” She looks at him gently, almost sadly, before hanging her head again. “I don’t know really. I mean, whenever I look at you, I look at the kid who’s angry at the world for taking away his brother and gave him a crap job, a crap life, and a crap mission.”

“You think of me, like - like that?” he stutters.

“It wasn’t like that all the time Kairi. But ever since all of that, you’ve just been the angry kid, making irrational comments and making reckless moves out on the battlefield.” He turns his face to her, turning up the corner of his mouth in a sad motion.

“I’m just afraid of you and I don’t know how I’m going to deal with it,” she confesses, raising her eyes to him. Kairi’s eyes wander around for a little bit, landing right back on her eyes. They stare at each other for what felt like an eternity, letting the wall collapse between them. Kairi shifts his head to the ceiling in contemplation as Umika shifts closer to him.

“You know, I’m sorry that I’ve been making those comments. I didn’t think that it would affect you so much,” he says in a huff, tilting his head towards her once more. “It’s been hard Umika, really really hard.”

“I know. It’s been difficult for us too.”

“But you guys don’t understand.” He pauses, shifting his focus to the ground. “I - I - I - uh, I haven’t been sleeping lately.”

“Kairi,” she says concerningly.

“I know, I know, I shouldn’t be all that wrapped up about it, but it’s just...Keiichiro’s been getting close, Zamigo’s been getting into my head, and you guys…”

Finally, she saw what she was missing. His eyebags are more sunken than ever, his face is more wary, his body falls more easily than she remembers. She realizes that she’s been looking at this all wrong. She’s not looking at an angry kid with a grudge against the world -- she’s looking at a kid who lost everything and now is scared to relive it all again.

“Kairi I -”

“Don’t. Okay, just don’t. I know what you’re going to say, so please just don’t this time.”

“Okay. I got it.”

“Was it supposed to be this hard? Caring about you guys?” he mumbled to himself, fully sinking his head to the ground.

The two of them just sat there for a while, contemplating well, everything. The grandfather clock kept ticking at the both of them as if to say that it was enough, but all they could do was stay there in silence. After a couple of minutes, Umika finally decides to get off the counter. He follows along a few seconds later, wary, but still steady.

They both turn to each other, staring into each other’s eyes once again. They stay like that for a few seconds, softening at each other’s gazes. It takes her a split second to place a peck on Kairi’s cheek. He’s confused at first, unsure of what to make of the situation. Umika steps back, covering her lips in embarrassment.

Despite her unease, she lowers her hand and gives him a gentle smile. “Hey, if you need anything, call me.”

Kairi puts his hands in his pockets, nodding his head. “Will do.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it here, that means that you have at least read it. I hope you do like it! I genuinely tried my best and I managed to complete it, so there's that! (Take that writer's block!)


End file.
